7/3/09 | University of Oregon student pulled off string of holdups | Register-Guard

Investigators tie ex-UO attendee Samuel Sourikoff to robberies in three states

BY JACK MORAN

The Register-Guard

Appeared in print: Friday, Jul 3, 2009

News: Local: Story

Former University of Oregon journalism student Samuel Sourikoff spent part of his time away from campus robbing and breaking into jewelry stores in three states to help pay off gambling debts, investigators said Thursday.

“Two lives” is what Eugene police Detective Jeff Donaca said Sourikoff had for a 19-month period between May 2007 and December 2008, when the 22-year-old targeted five jewelry stores in Eugene, Nevada and California.

Sourikoff also robbed Mazzi’s restaurant in south Eugene four times during his crime spree, which ended when restaurant patrons helped police chase him down following a heist there last Dec. 5.

Sourikoff — who was sentenced this week in Lane County Circuit Court to a mandatory 12-year prison term for a series of local robberies that included the Mazzi’s holdups and two takeover-style robberies at Beaudet Jewelry in south Eugene — confessed to those crimes and similar incidents in Nevada and California during interviews with investigators earlier this year.

Donaca said Sourikoff once had an academic scholarship to UO and played prep sports.

But the young man apparently went off-track and into debt after gambling online and at several Nevada casinos.

“It’s really pretty sad,” Donaca said.

The former UO student wasn’t a suspect in any of the crimes until last September, when an acquaintance told FBI investigators that Sourikoff was the man pictured in surveillance photos taken during the unsolved jewelry store crimes.

[Click here to read the full article.]

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For more information about problem gambling in college, as well as the new ground-breaking "Problem Gambling Awareness Project" to address problem gambling at the University of Oregon, click here.

What are your thoughts on college gambling? Is the article above identifying a rare issue, or something that hasn't yet been uncovered? Please post your comments below!

Oregon students honored for artwork focused on problem gambling

Statesman-Journal

July 1, 2009

Area students won awards and honorable mentions in the 2009 Marion County Problem

Gambling Art Awards competition.

The sixth annual art search is conducted in partnership with local problem gambling prevention and outreach coordinators. The top artistic designs are chosen for next year's Oregon Department of Human Services calendar, which is designed to increase awareness of problem gambling. Each county can have two winners on the calendar, which is distributed statewide.

About 277 entries were submitted this year from middle school students throughout Marion County. Student art from Jefferson Middle School, Cascade Junior High School and Mount Angel Middle School ranked in the top 10.

[Click here to read the full article.]

Roseburg City Council says 'no' to social gambling

6/23/09

By Chelsea Duncan
The News-Review

The Roseburg City Council voted Monday night against allowing “social gambling” in the city despite reports that other cities that allow it have seen few problems.

Councilor Mike Baker said he doesn't believe the city should be in the business of promoting the activity, which involves low-stakes games, such as poker, in private businesses or clubs.

“I just don't think it's something that is desirable in Roseburg,” Baker said...

[Click here to read the full article.]

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What are your thoughts on "social gambling" (city/local ordinances that allow for low-stakes gambling in private business or clubs)? Feel free to share your experiences and/or research in the comments section!

Oregon Problem Gambling Services Budget Update, 5/19/09

[See the full page, including the complete Co-Chairs' recommmended budget here.]

On May 18, the Joint Committee on Ways and Means Co-Chairs' recommended a 15% reduction from 07-09 Essential Budget Level for Problem Gambling Services, not the elimination of services.
Currently line items dealing with Problem Gambling Services:

• 111 - AMH - Reduce Problem Gambling Treatment and Prevention by 15% (-$1,623,716)
• 112 - AMH - Reduce Problem Gambling program support by 15% (-$421,820)

Keep in mind that this is a Ways and Means Recommended Budget and must be approved by the full legislature. The recommended budget includes some tax increases that are receiving opposition.

It is expected that the legislature will complete a final budget by June 30. Legislators may still be contacted, including support or concerns you may have about this latest budget package.

[See the full page, including the complete Co-Chairs' recommmended budget here.]

Updated Problem Gambling Services Budget Info

Frequently asked questions, including fact sheets & legislative information, are regularly updated at: http://lanecounty.org/prevention/pgs

KMTR News story: 'State budget cuts take aim at gambling treatment services'

From Eugene's KMTR News --

Eugene (KMTR) - With a $3 (b)illion budget shortfall looming over the next two years Oregon lawmakers are looking to cut 30% from the budget of every state agency. That includes help for problem gamblers. People who run those programs and use those services say legislators are gambling with families futures.

In Lane County the services are run by Emergence. They have about 150 clients at any given time and hold support groups and help people make financial plans to get back on track. Emergence also runs the statewide gambling help line that gets about 6,000 calls a year. They also do gambling prevention education in local schools.

Program director Michele Tantriella-Modell says wiping out their programs would carry major social costs.

“What is big about it is the devastation it causes to families...financial devastation, emotional devastation the lack of trust. People end up losing jobs, end up divorced and have foreclosures and bankruptcies.” Tantriella-Modell said.

Untreated problem gambling has been linked to higher risks for divorce, depression and suicide.

About $12 (m)illion is dedicated to gambling treatment and prevention programs in Oregon. 1% of state lottery funds supports that. Emergence believes that if the state is going to promote the lottery and make money off of it then it's their responsibility to provide treatment for the section of the population that can't walk away from it.

[click here to read full story]

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What are your thoughts about the potential cuts? Click comments to weigh in, and click here for more information on how to weigh in with legislators.

Later gambling behaviors attributable to traits in childhood?

CNN story-- "Is your child a gambler?"

It may be possible to tell if a kindergartner will become an adult gambler. CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta reports.

The story refers to research published in this month's Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine.

Science Daily summarized the study on its website:

ScienceDaily (Mar. 3, 2009) — Children whose teachers rated them as more impulsive in kindergarten appear more likely to begin gambling behaviors by the sixth grade, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals....

"Our results suggest that behavioral features such as inattentiveness, distractibility and hyperactivity at school entry represent a vulnerability factor for precocious risk-oriented behavior like gambling in sixth grade," the authors write. "It is very plausible that these childhood characteristics snowball into cumulative risks for youngsters who do not eventually outgrow the distractibility and inattentiveness from early childhood and become involved in gambling as a typical pastime for many youth. Most importantly, our observations suggest a developmentally continuous effect of impulsivity that places individuals on a life course trajectory toward gambling involvement in adolescence and emerging adulthood."

___What are your thoughts on this story? Please post comments below!

Oregon Problem Gambling Awareness Week Rally at UO

Lane County Problem Gambling Prevention & the University of Oregon's Problem Gambling Awareness Project are holding a Problem Gambling Awareness Week rally at the University of Oregon on March 4, 2009 at 9:45 am. Click here for more details. Click the map below to enlarge/print. See you on the 4th!

2/14-2/15 UO SAPP Problem Gambling Seminar Notes

SAPP students,

Thanks for participating in the weekend-long seminar on problem gambling.

The following materials should help you complete your exam from class (lavendar-colored paper); email Caitlin@sapp.uoregon.edu if you do not have a copy of your exam. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or comments.

Best wishes to you in your educations & careers!
Julie Hynes (julhynes@gmail.com)

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Course notes/study guide (Section 1 of Exam):

DAY 1: See below, or go to http://www.scribd.com/doc/12503469/UO-SAPP-Problem-Gambling-Seminar-Day-1-NotesStudy-Guide to download the PDF.

DAY 2: See below, or go to http://www.scribd.com/doc/12399565/UO-SAPP-Problem-Gambling-Seminar-Day-2-Notes-21509 to download the PDF.

Course readings (Section 2 of Exam):

Listed at: http://sapp.uoregon.edu/course_syllabus.asp?coursecrn=26333&theyear=2009

Optional supplementary material (from Day 1 of seminar):
60 Minutes special: "Poker Face/How Online Gamblers Masked Cheaters"


Video source: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/25/60minutes/main4633254.shtml

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Questions?
Regarding the course or clarifications on exam questions: Email julhynes@gmail.com

Regarding arrangements made with SAPP staff on exam or making up course time: Email caitlin@sapp.uoregon.edu

National Problem Gambling Awareness Week Channel on YouTube

Videos for National Problem Gambling Awareness Week (NPGAW), March 1-7, 2009, have been placed on the NPGAW 2009 YouTube channel to increase awareness about hope & help for problem gambling. Check it out!